1. Field
The present invention generally relates to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) spacecraft and, in particular, relates to a non-interfering deployable radiator arrangement for GEO spacecraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a GEO communications spacecraft may have deployable radiators that are stowed against the north or south spacecraft panels underneath the stowed solar arrays. The rationale for this is that the north or south panels of the spacecraft generally have the largest surface area and minimize interference with communications antennas that are mounted on the east and west sides of the spacecraft. Once in orbit and after the solar arrays have been deployed, the deployable radiators are rotated from the stowed position to the deployed position.
A drawback of this arrangement is that the deployable radiators must fit underneath the stowed solar array in the stowed position. Because of this, the deployable radiators generally include clearance cutouts and missing sections to avoid interfering with the solar array restraint mechanisms, harnessing, and/or the solar array driving mechanisms. The clearance cutouts decrease the thermal rejection capacity of the deployable radiators. In addition, the clearance cutouts complicate the design of the deployable radiators and its internal heat pipe arrangement. This deployment arrangement is more complicated, has greater potential for undesirable interferences, and is more costly to implement.